The Really & Truly Last Minute Gift Guide

Hey, didn’t I just see you downtown at Union Square? Yeah, that was me. Frantically grabbing at any gift within in reach, slapping down the credit card and racing out the revolving door to the next emporium on my list.

Ho, ho, ho … indeed.

But wait! There’s still time on the clock for those of us who suffer from Seasonal Overwhelm and Procrastinating Present Disorder.

Assuagement for shopping-guilted slackers is mere taps away on your keyboard. This action will not only bolster four local authors but will delight dedicated bookworms.

So welcome to the Really & Truly Last Minute Gift Guide: Books-by-the-Bay edition.

Mystery of the Mermaid (FirefallMedia)

Mystery of the Mermaid by Merla Zellerbach sports a stylish cover illustration by Gladys Perint Palmer

Beloved local scribe Merla Zellerbach has masterfully kicked-out her second book of the year, Mystery of the Mermaid.

And this can’t-put-it-down read has received hearty endorsements from both Publisher’s Weekly and Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

“An upbeat story for anyone who fears breast cancer, and a fast, fun read for cruise ship buffs, romantics and mystery lovers,” wrote Feinstein, who is a lifelong friend and fan of Zellerbach’s.

The author also recently received a rather curious endorsement.

Zellerbach was at an event where she met a woman who asked Zellerbach to have the bookstore send her a copy of Mermaid since she, herself, did not have account there. The woman asked if Zellerbach wouldn’t mind charging the book on Zellerbach’s personal account and she would then reimburse the author.

“With postage, it came to $38 and I enclosed the receipt in the book. A week later, I got a note from her with a check for $15,” said Zellerbach, still chuckling at the transaction. “Her note said, “I loved your book, but I really only wanted the paperback version.”

From personal experience, I can vouch that Mermaid is definitely a riveting read. Now go buy your own copy!

Merla Zellerbach reads from Mermaid at 4 p.m. on January 23 at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. Click here for more information.

I’ve Always Loved You (Firefallmedia)

Social networking served as the spark when author Ann Seymour was looking for a publisher for her new book, I’ve Always Loved You.

The novel was a written as a valentine to her father, Maj. Frank Ribbel, a WWII hero who died in service to his country during the battle for Luzon in the Philippines.

Without a publisher, Seymour began self-printing the book at Kinko’s. Then her grandson, Harry Cavallero, suggested she join Facebook where she could connect with friends online and share excerpts of the book-in-progress.

As typically happens within the viral friend-ing madness that is Facebook, one friend suggested another friend for Seymour to connect with who just happened to be, you guessed it, a publisher.

Jennifer Biederbeck with her mom, author Ann Seymour, and friend Lili Monell at a book party they hosted in Seymour’s honor

“All of the sudden, my fax machine was ringing and pages of a contract started pouring out,” said Seymour, at a book party in November which was hosted by her daughter, Jennifer Biederbeck, and family friend Lili Monell in Market Bar restaurant which is owned by her son-in-law Doug Biederbeck.

The book sold like hotcakes and Seymour gaily signed copies for friends and fans.

“It’s so great to have the support of my friends. And they’re true friends. As I signed their books most insisted on a personal inscription, too,” said Seymour, between signings. “Even though I offered to not include their names so that they might have the option to recycle the book!”

Elegant interior inspiration — in gorgeous, full-color display — can be found within the pages of this stylish tome by designer Suzanne Tucker.

From classic city cribs to luxurious Napa Valley lairs, 21 of Tucker’s most glamorous projects are featured herein.

“I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned about the publishing world from working on this book,” said Tucker, laughing during a celebratory lunch in October at Epic Roasthouse hosted by her pals O.J. Shansby and Peggy Trethewey.

Considering the state of the publishing world, we weren’t sure if that experience was a compliment to the biz or not. At any rate, Tucker already has her second design book ready to go. In her head.

Author and designer Suzanne Tucker with pals Peggy Peggy Trethewey and O.J. Shansby who co-hosted a book party for Tucker

This designing woman is a co-principal with Timothy Marks of the award-winning firm Tucker & Marks which they founded in 1987.

But Tucker’s design roots run deep: at 23, she became the assistant to the late Michael Taylor.

“Michael was very inspirational to me. And I have to admit, I was his ‘pet’ in the office,: said Tucker. “So I was lucky enough to experience the absolutely, most wonderful side of him.”

The legendary designer was often thumb-nailed by colleagues and clients as, somewhat, temperamental.

“That also meant if there was bad news to deliver, I’d be assigned to do it,” explained Tucker. “Michael was larger than life. To this day, I still miss him.”

The Harvard Psychedelic Club (HarperOne)

The Harvard Psychedelic Club by Don Lattin

You’ll have to wait until early January to read the latest from author Don Lattin. But the advance word on this paean to Ivy League radicals penned by the former SF Chronicle Religion writer? Mind-blowing.

The book is subtitled, How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America.

Lattin spent about two years on the research and writing of Harvard. But it’s a topic he’d been mulling over since he was a freshman at Cal in 1972.

“I had a profoundly spiritual LSD trip,” said Lattin, in an email exchange. “Followed a month later by a ‘bad trip’ straight out of central casting.”

Lattin never got to meet Leary who died in 1996. But he came close. Back in the eighties, Lattin had secured an interview with Leary, who was at the Claremont Hotel to deliver a speech.

“We were supposed to meet in the hotel bar after,” recalled Lattin. “But the pied piper of LSD got distracted by several attractive young ladies and several martinis and decided he had better things to do than talk to me!”

Andrew Weil is familiar to many as the folksy and bald-yet-full-beared health guru. But originally, Lattin reminds us, Weil really began his career back in the seventies as the “go-to-guy” on how to safely get stoned.

We asked Lattin if there is a current drug or belief-set which is fomenting a similar kind of radical shift along our cultural landscape. Aside from yoga.

“Some aspects of American culture that have been transformed by these four visionaries in the book are the gods we worship (as influenced by Huston Smith and Ram Dass), the food we eat and the health care we seek (Weil) and the very way we envision the nature of reality (Leary).”

“Other than that,” says Lattin, with a slice of wry, “They weren’t all that important.”

Don Lattin reads from his book at 7 p.m. on January 7 at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. For info on future readings, click here.